March Madness: No. 11 Rhode Island Lays Down Upset, Beats No. 6 Creighton 84-72
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Sacramento, Calif. — Freshman Jeff Dowtin had 23 points, five rebounds, one steal and made all 10 of his shots from the free throw line to help the No. 11 Rhode Island Rams upset Creighton 84-72 at Golden 1 Center.
E.C. Matthews had 16 points, five rebounds, and duplicated Dowtin’s free-throw mark for Rhode Island (25-9, 13-5 Atlantic 10). Kuran Iverson added 17 points, three assists, and two blocked shots for the Rams, who won for the first time in the NCAA Tournament since 1998.
"Thrill to come out here with a win against a program of the caliber of Creighton," said Rhode Island head coach Dan Hurley. "We really showed our depth and really just wore on them with our defensively intensity and playmaking."
The game was tied 17-17 until the Blue Jays went on on a 13-4 run in the first half. Creighton lead 33-26 at the break. Iverson had 10 points, two rebounds, and two steals for the Blue Jays in the first half. Martin had six points and five rebounds in 15 minutes for the Rams.
The Bluejays go behind by 11 points before they came back to cut the lead 53-48 on basket by Harrell at the 8:53 mark in the second half. The Rams took off on a 17-8 run to increase their margin 70-56.
Rhode Island head coach Dan Hurley, right, gives direction to his team on the sidelines during the Rams 84-72 upset over Creighton Blue Jays at Golden 1 Center. PA photo art by T. Ray Harvey.
The Bluejays (25-10, 10-8 Big East) missed two critical lay ups with less than three minutes to play, which told the story of their demise.
"They try to body, push you around, and make you go where they want you go," Creighton's Isaiah Zierden said the Rams' style of play. "They did a good job and tried to speed us up. That's exactly what they did."
The game was tied only once, but the Rams never trailed. Rhode Island will play Oregon in the Second Round on March 19 at G1C.
Iona Falls To Oregon
Tyler Dorsey had 24 points and five rebounds to help guide No. 3 Oregon to a 93-77 win over No. 14 Iona in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament at Golden 1 Center.
Jordan Bell had 17 points, 12 rebounds, and one steal for the Oregon Ducks (30-5, 16-2 Pac-12) while Payton Pritchard added 16 points, three steals, and three steals. The Ducks made 35 of 63 shots from the floor and scored 48 points in the paint.
Jordan Washington had 22 points, 12 rebounds, and one steal for the Iona Gaels (22-13, 12-8 MAAC). Sam Cassell had 16 points and junior guard Deyshonee Much finished with 15 points, all 3-point shots in the second half.
Iona was down by 27 points in the second half until Deyshonee Much made a 3-point basket to cut Oregon’s lead 83-70 with 5:54 left in the game. Much made four 3-pointers, including three in a row, on an Iona 23-10 run.
The Ducks reestablished themselves and pushed the lead back up 91-75 on a 3-point basket by Dorsey at the 3:45 mark. Oregon also worked the clock the rest of the way to keep the Gaels from more opportunities behind the arc.
The Gaels trailed by 10 points early in the first half, but came back to come with one point of the Ducks’ lead on two occasions. Iona’s Washington, 6-foot-8 and 225 pounds, was showing Oregon that he had a power game. He scored 13 of the Gael’s first 17 points.
At one point, the Ducks found a glitch in the Gaels’ interior defense and scored four straight layups, including a putback off the glass by Bell to give Oregon a 41-33 margin. Pritchard’s 3-point gave Oregon its biggest lead in the first half and a halftime score of 55-37.
Bell had 15 points and Dorsey scored 14 points in the first half for the Ducks, who made 21 of 33 shots from the field at 63.6 percent. Washington’s 14 points and Cassell’s 10 led the Gaels.
By T. Ray Harvey | PA Public Information Officer and Photographic Artist
Twitter: Tony Ray Harvey @PublicityAgents
PA’s PUBLIC INFORMATION
* Session 1 at Golden 1 Center had an attendance of 15,833 for the first four teams that played in Round 1 .
T. Ray (Antonio) Harvey is a Public Information Officer and Photographic Artist for Publicity Agents. Harvey is also the author of The HOMICIDAL HANDYMAN OF OAK PARK: MORRIS SOLOMON JR.
